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Air Canada Rouge which is a low cost subsidiary of Air Canada is suspending all flights amid the new travel restrictions announced by the Canadian government.
“As a result of our suspension of all flights to the Caribbean and Mexico at the request of the Canadian government, we are again pausing our Rouge operations effective Feb. 8 as these flights are primarily operated by Rouge,” the airline told CBC News in a statement late Wednesday.
The new rules set out by the Canadian government banned all flights to sunny destinations including Mexico, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. Those flights were primarily operated by Air Canada Rouge. The final flight will be on February 8th until further notice. With the Canadian government's suspension of flights to sunny destinations expected until at least April 30, it's unlikely rouge will return before then.
The suspension will affect roughly 80 employees who will all be temporarily laid off.
The move by the Canadian government has sparked controversy as U.S. airlines are still operating out of Canada and transporting Canadians to sunny destinations such as Cancun. The only caveat being that Canadian passengers must have a stop over in the United States and present proof of a negative Covid-19 antigen test.
Canadians require proof of a negative Covid-19 PCR test to board their flights home when returning from abroad.
Canadian passengers returning to Canada by air will also face a mandatory 3 day quarantine with a cost of up to $2000 per person. The supervised quarantine will take place in a hotel while the passenger waits for the results of a PCR test that will be administered upon returning to Canada. Once released from hotel quarantine, passengers can then complete the rest of the 14 day quarantine at home.
One obvious oversight was many Canadians are now flying into cities that are close to the Canadian border and are driving home to avoid the hotel quarantine and testing upon arrival. When crossing by land border, Canadians are only required to self-isolate for 14 days.
Canada has some of the strictest border rules in the world due to Covid-19 and has faced criticism over allegedly violating the constitutional rights of Canadians which states that ‘every citizen of Canada has the right to enter, remain in and leave Canada'.
The new sunny destination flight suspension by the Canadian government ultimately led to Air Canada Rouge stopping all of its flights leaving 80 people out of work and further economic impact to its own airlines. In the meantime, Canadians who are still traveling abroad to holiday destinations will do so on U.S. airlines.
The new Canadian flight ban does not apply to U.S. holiday destinations. Canadian airlines are still free to fly to destinations such as Florida, Hawaii and Arizona.
They are not however allowed to fly to Mexico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Bahamas, Jamaica, Panama and Costa Rica.
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Disclaimer: Current travel rules and restrictions can change without notice. The decision to travel is ultimately your responsibility. Contact your consulate and/or local authorities to confirm your nationality’s entry and/or any changes to travel requirements before traveling. Travel Off Path does not endorse traveling against government advisories